Hi All,
I have been browsing the forums for approximately 3 weeks now, reading through success stories, the ups and downs of the 5:2 plan and finally decided that I would start a post in order to monitor my weight loss and share with anyone who wants to read.
To start, I have basically struggled with weight since early teens – I have noticed my weight since about 13 years old, obviously high school has that effect on you π
In high school, I never really did much when it came to changing my weight – I always had very slim friends and just thought I would always be slightly bigger.
During my teen years, there was always an abundance of food in the house, mainly due to my dad who thought that buying the entirity of unhealthy food from the supermarket was a brilliant idea. So with food being so available, I put on weight – on some Saturday’s filling my face every hour with chocolate, crisps, pork pies etc etc as well as still eating very large portions of dinner and tea! (and I wondered why I was putting on weight)!
At 18/19 both my mum and myself left my dad for a new life (lots of personal implications that I dont really want to go into). Anyway, as soon as we left, our eating habits changed and we became more active, going out all day on Saturday’s instead of staying in watching tv. Consequently and unsurprisingly, we both lost weight – I wouldnt be able to tell you how much I lost because I never weighed myself, but I dropped from a size 16 to size 12/14, which was great! Also, my mum lost near on a stone – as well as 18 stone worth of ugly fat (my dad), as she says π
I maintained my slimmer size for a number of years, but at the around of 23/24 I started to put weight on again. I’m not entirely sure why, but it happened.
So in 2011 I tried Slim Fast to try and give me a quick fix. My mum had tried it in the past and I thought I’ll give it a go. I stuck to it for approx 3-4 weeks and in part enjoyed not having to think of what to have for breakfast or dinner and the time I gained back by not having to think and eat food, but in the end, it became terribly boring for me and I wasnt seeing noticeable results, so stopped and piled on even more weight. I was not a happy bunny!
In 2012, after doing a bit of research, both my mum and myself joined Slimming World – I have read multiple stories of people losing fantastic amounts of weight and of it being a sustainable way of life. In fact, I have a friend who has lost over 5 stone in a year doing Slimming World – absolutely amazing!
Both my mum and myself did Slimming World for approx 2-4 months and in this time I lost 1/2 a stone and my mum lost over a stone. A very respectably amount, but both my mum and myself hated going to the group sessions, it would be a dread every week. Now I dont doubt that some people like their group sessions, but we just found it inane, boring and a complete waste of time – I felt like I was being talked to like a 5 year old. So we both decided to stop going to the classes and try to go it alone.
This was possible for a couple of weeks, but we found that we would cheat on certain occasions and then the certain occasions turned into every day and before you know the weight was back on.
I fully believe that the principals of Slimming World is very good – they point you in the right direction for healthy food, they give you support if you need it, they make you more aware of the unhealthy food etc; however, for me, trying to sustain this for life was a horrendous thought – constantly saying “well that’s so many syns”, “is this a healthy extra or do I need to add this as a syn”, “have I had enough super foods today” – mind boggling. Add this to the fact of having to attend those god awful sessions, not sustainable at all! I also found that Slimming World didnt give you any idea of portion control, so I would continue to eat copious amounts of food, probably with no sense of whether I was hungry or not!
After Slimming World, both my mum and myself headed back to the gym, but this didnt work due to not calorie counting. Also, by July, I had started running outside in order to train for a 10k run in September, 2013. Running outside did slightly improve my health, but the weight was still there. I would know it was a running day and stock up, thinking I could eat whatever I wanted because I was going for a run tonight – a completely ridiculous thought process and something I have clearly picked up from the media at one point or another!
Once the 10k run was out of the way and the colder and darker night descended, I stopped running and I didnt know what to do – the gym wasnt an option, as I would just be wasting money, so I attempted trying to work slimming world ideas back into my diet without going back to the classes. This didnt work.
At the start of December, 2013, my boyfriend mentioned to me that his mum had started the 5:2 plan. I was very sceptical – I had heard of people in the office who had tried it and it just sounded very unhealthy, especially as one of them used to binge on a family size packet of crisps the night before a fast! How could something like that actually work and be good for you. My boyfriend did mention that his mum had lost 5lbs in the first week, which was amazing and briefly sparked my interest, but I was still unconvinced, as I didnt believe it was sustainable and continued as I was.
A couple of weeks later though, on the 15th December, 2013, I hit my highest weight of 13 stone 2 and I thought that this was it, I could not continue to put on weight and have no control over it. I am very into horse riding and more recently have been going on horse riding holidays. These holidays require you to be below 15 stone, otherwise they will not allow you to ride! It would devastate me if I got over 15 stone and couldnt go riding, so I had to put something into action.
On the 15th I started quizing my boyfriend on the 5:2 plan and asked about sustainability, knowing that I needed a boost and fast. It all seemed very reasonable, although I still held my reservations. So I vowed to start that very week; I could not wait until after Christmas, I had to see whether it worked.
On the 17th December, 2013, I did my first fast day and I was amazed at how easy it was. Missing breakfast (which I have no qualms in doing), having a 200 carlorie lunch and 300 calorie dinner. I have to admit at around 5pm, after being rather busy at work, I was feeling a tad weak, but soldiered through and did the entire day. I did another fast on the 19th December, 2013, with no problems at all. Followed by another fast on the 23rd December, 2013, which was slightly harder with Christmas being so close, as there was chocolate in the office and the senior management had ordered in McDonalds for the entire office, fortunatley, one of the other girls who had done the 5:2 plan suggested having a salad and it was quite nice in all respects, but not something I’d go for every week.
I do have a tendancy to weigh myself every day, so I had been monitoring my progress over the first week; however, on Tuesday 24th December, 2013, I weighed myself and found that I had lost 6lbs in a week!! That was a phenomenal amount for me and something I would have never achieved in several months at Slimming World.
After this, I was hooked – granted Christmas did slightly get in the way, but I managed to do 2 weeks of 6:1 and although I put on 4lbs over the Christmas period, within the first week of starting back on the 5:2 plan in January, 2014, I had lost the 4lbs again and was back on track – brilliant!
On the days I am not fasting I try to stick to the Slimming World ideas within reason, but I do not count syns or calories and if I want a piece of chocolate, I will have a piece of chocolate. There is no guilt.
Within a 3 week period, I have gone from 13 stone 2 to 12 stone 11, so as of today, I have lost 5lbs, with my greatest weight loss being 6lbs.
I enjoy this way of eating and it makes much more sense to cut your calorie in take for two days, than every day and unlike Slimming World, which went against my better nature by saying eat as much of these foods as you like and you will still lose weight, this way of eating makes perfect sense to me. You eat less, you lose weight.
At the weekend, my mum (who is also doing 5:2 and has lost 5lbs also) and myself went out for a meal for her birthday and I ate 3 courses without thinking “is this healthy enough”, “are there too many calories in this”, I just enjoyed the food, including an ultimate brownie tower for desert – great π
As others have commented on here, I do also find that I am not ravenous the following day after a fast or on any of my feast days – in fact, yesterday I did a fast and woke up this morning not feeling hungry, so I have skipped breakfast and probably wont eat until 1pm. This doesnt scare me, I dont feel like I should be diving into the biscuit tin, I feel quite awake and I have enough energy to keep me going until 1pm. Plus I have the thought that I am having a dominoes pizza for tea tonight – yummy π
I have found that I am more aware of what I am putting into my body and on some feast days, I do monitor what I am eating within reason – not that it would stop me from eating a pack of crisps if I want one, I would just choose not to eat two packs of crisps haha π
Much like other people on here, when I initially started the 5:2 plan, I was wary of mentioning it to certain people, as I knew I would receive negative comments, but after losing 5 lbs in 3 weeks, including Christmas, I am more inclined to mention it to people without feeling a heated discussion will follow. Not that I would force this way of eating on others, this plan works for me, it wont necessarily work for others.
I read the bad and good reports on this plan before attempting it, I made sure that it was reasonable healthy and sustainable and as far as I am concerned it is! Eat what I want for 5 days and lose weight – sounds bloody fantastic to me π
Anyway, I think I have given you my full life story and thoroughly bored you to tears too π I will be returning at regular intervals, moving forward, updating on my progress – I have no idea what my target is, but I am sure as the weight comes off, I will have a better idea π
Loving this diet plan.
Regards,
Jillian
10:27 am
10 Jan 14